I Give You My Love
by emrosee77
Summary: Hotch and Prentiss are out of the hands of a brutal unsub, and begin to recover.  Hotch takes it upon himself to take care of his new love, Emily, but there is trouble back at the BAU.  The three remaining agents battle another unsub and Strauss
1. Relief

**Hello! Before you start reading, I just wanted to let you know that this is a sequel to my previous Hotch/Prentiss fanfic called "You Deserve Love", so if you haven't read that yet, please go read it! If you have read it, than thank you, and I hope you enjoy the next story, "I Give You My Love"!**

Morgan stepped out of the SUV and into the hospital parking lot. He felt a pit inside his stomach forming as he thought about who was inside. He had just come back from dropping off the man that had caused all of the agony the past few days had contained. He was the man that hurt Emily Prentiss. The man that may have messed up Hotch in ways that he could never know. The man that killed ten people, eleven including himself.

But he was dead now. And the team could start over.

He walked around the back of the car and opened the trunk. He grabbed a black bag and a small bouquet of flowers he had picked up on the way there. As he closed the back of the car he let out a sigh that was partly relief, and partly a way to prepare himself to see her. He had only seen her for a minute in the basement; he was mostly focused on calming the thrashing Hotch down.

He walked in to the entrance of the hospital and went up to the receptionist, still biting on the pencil.

"Hello, I'm here to see Emily Prentiss."

"Well, ain't she popular? 308."

"Thanks."

Morgan walked down the 300 hallway and saw two familiar faces outside the door. Rossi and Reid looked at him, ragged and run- down.

"Hey guys, how is she?"

Reid looked at him.

"Five broken ribs, a broken arm, severe bruising, a small concussion, and a sprained neck muscle and ankle."

"Dear God… and Hotch?"

"Just some bruising on his ankles and wrists."

Rossi chimed in.

"Most of his damage is up here", he tapped his head, then leaned further back in the chair, "and here", then he tapped his heart.

Morgan looked a bit confused, as did Reid. Morgan shrugged and stepped toward the door, placing a hand on the door knob.

"Only one person can be in there at a time."

"Hotch is in there now? Isn't it a little soon?"

"Is it ever too soon?"

"Whatever, I'm going in."

Morgan proceeded to turn the door knob, and look inside. Emily Prentiss was lying there with a frail and broken, with a pale hand on Hotch's who was sitting in a chair next to her. They were both staring at each other with smiles that Morgan was once nervous he would never see again. They broke their gaze and looked at Morgan. Emily, again was the first to break the silence.

"Hey Morgan."

She was glowing.

"Hey princess, hey Hotch."

Hotch stood up and shook hands with Morgan.

"I'll let you have your time."

He was like a different person, not even compared to him when they found him in the basement, but he was a new person in general. As he left the room, Morgan turned his attention to Emily.

"How are you doing?" He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm fine, really. Are those flowers?"

"Yeah, here, I'm just so happy that you are okay"

"Me too."

She gave a small chuckle and took the flowers, running the fingers of her unbroken arm over the soft petals.

"You're so sweet, Morgan."

"You deserve it, but I know someone else that wants to see you."

He took the black bag off his shoulder, and slid out a laptop that he opened and gently laid on Emily's lap. Garcia popped up on the screen with a large and uplifting smile.

"Hey Em! Are you okay? Are you hurting? Do you need anything? When are you coming back? I need to see you and give you a hug, but you know a small gentle one that won't hurt you. I miss you, I was so worried and-"

"Garcia! I miss you too, I'm fine. I'm going to be back as soon as I am cleared to fly, then I'll be staying at home for a while."

"Oh, well my dear I will miss you, but at least you'll be here. I can't deal with you guys being so far away."

"Soon Garcia, soon. It's good to hear your voice again, for a while there I thought I would never-"

"No! Don't talk like that! You're going to make me cry."

"I'm sorry, but really though."

"Aw, how much do I love you right now?"

All three of them smiled.

Outside the room, Reid and Rossi stared at Hotch who was staring off into the distance and smiling.

_Smiling?_

Rossi's cell phone rang, it was Strauss. Rossi rolled his eyes and looked at the rest of the team, then answered.

"_I need to know the conditions of Agent Emily Prentiss and Agent Hotchner."_

"Erin, I know you're mad, but-"

"_Their conditions Dave!"_

"Prentiss is the worst, she have a few broken ribs and a broken arm, a sprained neck and ankle, and a small concussion."

She sighed_, "and Hotchner?"_

"Would you like to talk to him yourself?"

"I actually would love to Dave."

He stuck out his hand and gave the phone to Aaron. The smile quickly diminished as the agent realized who he was talking to.

"_Agent Hotchner, have you realized that in your time of need, at a moment where you could have indeed been killed, along with agent Prentiss, your team failed to call me? They failed to let me know that two vital member of the BAU, and two members of the bureau were in the hands of a murderer! Is that what you encourage? Is that what you taught them?_

"In the heat of the moment, they were focused on finding us and could not be bothered with distractions."

"_Distractions? Is that what I am, Hotchner? A distraction?"_

"I didn't mean to offend you, I was just saying that they had one thing on their minds, and that was protecting their team members."

"_Well, Agent Prentiss is in the hospital with broken bones, a sprained neck, and a concussion! They did not do a very good job of protecting her now did they?"_

She hung up, infuriated.


	2. Decisions

**Hey guys, chapter two coming at you!**

"So, Agent Prentiss, you seem to be recovering well, no more bleeding. I usually would not let someone fly yet though, but I understand the needs of your team to get back to D.C."

The doctor scribbled something onto her clipboard.

"And you are going to pull some strings?"

Prentiss looked at the doctor hopefully, but she was not in the mood to make compromises.

"I really do not think you should fly yet. You have only been here for eight hours, it would be better if you stayed for at least another day and a half."

"A day and a half! But my team can't stay here for that long."

"I know, I don't want to put them in that position, but either they stay here or they leave without you."

"Are you sure you can't let me go early?"

"I am looking out for your safety."

"I know, but I'm fine, really."

"You still have a small concussion, and I need you to be in doctor's care."

"What if I stay another eight hours, then I go home?"

"If the concussion ceases, then I will let you fly home, but if it doesn't you cannot argue."

"Alright, but I am really fine."

The doctor looked at the obviously not fine agent and gave her a look, then wrote something else on the clipboard, and left the room.

Prentiss rubbed her bandaged forehead with her wrapped hand. Everywhere she looked there was gauze and plaster, she felt like a mummy. All she wanted to do was rip it all off and walk out of here. She wanted to go back to D.C. and go to the BAU and begin work on the next case. She hated being the cause of a distraction. Maybe the team should just go home without her. It would be a lot easier for everyone.

Outside the hospital, Hotch was arguing with Hayley's sister, who was watching Jack, oblivious to the fact that her brother in law had just narrowly escaped the grasp of a serial killer.

"Look, I just need you to watch him for a little while more, I promise I'm fine and I will be home soon, tell Jack I love him."

He hung up the phone and turned around, only to run into Rossi.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just smoothing things over with Hayley's sister; she's watching Jack."

"Ah, well the doctor just told me that if Prentiss' concussion goes away within eight hours, then she can fly home."

"Isn't it a little soon? I don't want her to be in any danger and we can't afford her to get hurt more."

"Well, the doctor said its okay, so I guess its fine."

"Well doctor's make mistakes, Rossi."

"I know, I know, but Prentiss just wants to be back in D.C. She wants to be back home, and have us back on cases, she doesn't want to be in a hospital in Ohio, she just wants things back to normal."

"Well, back to normal or not, I don't want her back there until I think she's ready."

"Hotch, we really _do_ need to get back."

"Well then go back, I'll stay here with her."

"Hotch, you know that's not a good idea either. I mean three agents working any case are never going to be enough."

"Well even if we all go back that is all you're going to be working with."

"You're taking a leave? You didn't want to take a leave after you almost got blown up by that SUV!"

"It's not for me."

"Oh, I get it, you want to play doctor with you new girlfriend."

"Rossi, no, I just don't want her all alone in her condition. It's strictly professional."

Rossi obviously knew what was going on, but he let Hotch be. He went back into the hospital smiling to himself.

Hotch ran his index finger up and down the bridge of his nose. He realized that he had to face reality and he had a hard choice to make. He knew that he loved Prentiss, it was not just a short little crush, he wanted to be with her forever. He also knew that Strauss was angry already at the team and if she caught two agents fraternizing, then she would get even more steamed. Then there was the issue of what they would do when they did return home. Rossi was right, the team could not function with three members, they had already witnessed that the time that Emily almost quit and he was going to move departments. They needed all the team members, and Hotch could not afford risking the entire BAU team in order to…

In order to help the woman he loved.

This was too hard, he would think about how this team was his life, and besides Jack, that was all he used to care about, but now there was a new piece that he had to work in somehow. He desperately just wanted to take care of her, and treat her like he should have in the basement. He would put his arms around her when she was cold, and bring her breakfast, and watch TV, and be able to stroke her hair or hold her hand if he wanted to. But he knew it couldn't be that easy. As he would be drinking orange juice and eating eggs, the team could be out in the field, in danger, in need of another agent to go around back, or keep watch, or save a child. But what if he was in the field, then the woman he said that he loves and promised to always be there for would be struggling to get out of bed with sore ribs and a broken arm. She might fall, or she could forget to take her medication, or just feel lonely and in need of a hand to hold.

So what would he choose? Holding Emily's hand? Or the BAU's?

**Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think will happen next!**


	3. Strong

**Chapter three people! Read!**

"Alright agent, it has been four hours…"

"And I can leave?"

"You can try and stand. I am taking you off the IV and analyzing your motor skills."

"Alright."

Emily began to move and get out of the depressing hospital bed.

"No, let me help you."

The doctor grabbed her arm, but Prentiss swiped it away.

"I'm fine, can you please just let me do this?"

"No, I cannot risk you injuring yourself further Agent, just let me help you."

Prentiss was not about to hear that she could not do something by herself, she continued to push the doctor away, who soon became frustrated. The irritated doctor soon put bother her hand on Prentiss' shoulders, trying to keep her still, but the off guard agent yelped in pain at the pressure. Aaron, who was outside in the hall dashed in to see what was wrong.

"Prentiss?"

"I'm fine Hotch."

He tilted his head and looked at her.

"Can't you listen to the doctor for once?"

"I can stand."

"Not by yourself."

Emily slumped her shoulders and began biting her lip. Her eyes became glassy and she started to fumble with her fingers. Aaron placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"Can we have a minute?"

The doctor slid out of the room and Hotch joined Prentiss on the bed.

"I hate being weak."

"You are not weak you are the strongest woman I know."

"Strong? Are you kidding me? I can't even stand. What strong person can't stand?"

"Can wounded soldiers stand? No, but they are strong."

She looked up at him with her shiny eyes. Now that the color was flushed back into her dear face she was starting to become herself again. A little bit headstrong and stubborn, sure, but in the most beautiful ways. She smiled at him and he stood up and took both of her hands, avoiding the cast on one of them.

"We can do this."

She rolled her feet off the bed and hissed at the pain in her ribs, but managed to get both feet on the floor. Hotch placed his hand on the small of her back and came a bit closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. They looked like they were dancing, but they were not as graceful, but Emily managed to stand. She looked at him with hopeful eyes and pressed her lips against his in another sweet and warming kiss.

"Thank you Hotch."

"You're welcome, soldier."

…

Meanwhile Reid sat in the waiting room of the hospital, ripping through a medical book he had found. A cell phone buzzed in the coat that was on the chair he was sitting in. He turned around, curious, only to find that it was Rossi's jacket. He fished in the pocket of the coat and pulled out the phone.

_Strauss_

He flipped open the device and pressed to his ear, and began listening to a shrill rant streaming through the speakers, he did not even have a chance to say that it was him, not Rossi.

"_Dave! Why are you not back yet? And why haven't you called me to tell me how the agents are doing? I know it is Aaron's job to keep me notified, but I personally asked you to keep me in the loop! Now, back here at the BAU, remember that place? Your workplace? Yeah, well I have had a case come in and I was hesitant to call you, being that I am still furious over the outcome of your last case, but I need you out here now, the case is in D.C. and I don't care if Prentiss does not work this one, but I need you back to work, or all of you will be compromised! Dave? Are you still there?"_

"Um…"

"_Dave? Is that you? I does not sound like you."_

"Actually, ma'am, it is Agent Reid here."

"_Reid? What are you doing with Dave's phone?"_

"I was, uh, just holding it."

"_Well you heard everything?"_

"Yeah, um, what's the case about?"

"_Maybe you should come over here and find out."_

"But Prentiss…"

"_I don't care, Reid. I need your team, here."_

"We will get there."

"_Now Reid!"_

"Alright, I'll tell Rossi. And one note, we did find the unsub in the last case, so I do not think you need to be furious with us."

"_Don't give me that. Tell Aaron, Dave, and Morgan, to get here on the jet, immediately. I was not joking about the team being compromised. And that includes you Doctor Reid."_

"And leave an injured agent behind?"

"_If that is what it takes. Goodbye Agent."_

She hung up as Reid's heart began to beat faster. Morgan came up behind him.

"What's the matter kid?"

"I… uh… Nothing."

"Tell me."

"We might all be fired if we don't go back to D.C right away."

"What?"

"Strauss called Rossi, and said there is another case, and if we do not get on the jet immediately we might all me compromised."

"But Prentiss hasn't been cleared to fly yet."

"She does not seem to care."

"But we can't… I…"

"I know, I don't know what to do. We should probably ask Hotch."

"Hotch is going to want to stay, have you seen him being so protective of Emily?"

"Yeah, but maybe by the time we walk _all_ the way upstairs to tell him, Prentiss will have been cleared to fly."

"You're a dreamer kid."

"Well I don't know if you can accurately place that in the category of dreams, it's more like I am a hope-er, I guess. Dreams are more like…"

"Well, I better start walking up _all_ those stairs."

…

As Hotch and Prentiss stood in the middle of the room with Prentiss practically in his arms, he decided to cut loose and spew the question he so desperately needed help answering.

"What do you think I should do when we get back to D.C.?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should I take a leave?"

"If you feel you need to. Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fine. It's..."

"It's?"

"It's you I'm worried about"

"What? You can't take a leave for me! No way!"

"Why not?"

"Because, you can't, I'm fine see, I'm standing"

"I'm holding you up."

"No, you can't take a leave. You need to help the team, and you need to be there for Jack, and I'm fine. Not for me, you cannot risk your job for me."

"But I am by loving you."

"Don't remind me of that. You need to get back to work, and then everything we be a little more normal. Things will soon all be back to normal."

"Things will never be normal."

"Hotch, I can do this on my own. I have been doing things on my own for a long time, and just because I found someone that I love does not mean I am ready to let you all in yet. I still have this pride complex in me that will never let me live it down if I take you away from Jack and the BAU just to help me. I love you, just remember that, and when you come to see me, I will be there, and an unsub will be in jail, and you would have helped put him there. It's taking me a lot, to not beat myself up over having to have to stay here or take a leave because I have to recover. I would grab my gun and badge right now and start working a case if I could. But I realize I can't, but you have to."

"Why do you always have good answers?" He smiled, "But promise me that you will let me visit and take care of you then."

"You can visit."

**There you go! What do you guys think? And I know this isn't a forum or anything, but what do you guys think about the real Prentiss storyline and that she is leaving! I love the storyline "Come at my team, and I will end you" (I love her) but I absolutely am devastated that Paget/Emily is leaving! Noooo! Well, bye for now!**


	4. Going Home

**Chapter 4! It feels weird writing this now that Emily is gone from the show, but i guess that is the beauty of fanfiction, that they NEVER have to leave =)**

Morgan padded up the stairs, making his way to Emily's room, Reid struggling to keep up behind him.

"Are you okay?" Reid managed to say between strained breaths.

"Not quite, Strauss just gets me mad."

"I know."

They flew through the white swinging doors and ambled down the hallway only to see Hotch gripping the handles of a wheelchair pushing agent Prentiss toward the elevator. Morgan picked up his pace and caught up with Hotch and Emily.

"Hey, Princess, were do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"You have been cleared to fly?"

"They made an exception. They know we, well you, need to get back to Quantico."

They all piled in the elevator. Prentiss looked up at the three agents above her. They were taller than her anyway, but now that she was sitting, they seemed so much more impending. She noticed the square outlining of Morgan's jaw, Hotch's growing stubble from being distracted for so many days, and Reid's rounded chin. This was her family, not forgetting Rossi, and she could not have asked for a better one. The elevator dinged and soon she was being rolled out into a busy reception room littered with nurses and patients. They made their way through the reception area and met up with agent Rossi.

"Would you like to go to the car yourself, or do you want me to bring it around?" Agent Morgan asked.

"Go to the car? Or be reluctantly pushed?"

Morgan chuckled," I'll bring it around."

…

After a few minutes of loading Prentiss into the car, minutes filled with hushed curses and disinclined struggling, the team was driving back to the airport in two SUV's. Once at the airport, and a few more minutes of struggling getting Prentiss into the plane, the team was on their way back home. Things were starting to look brighter.

Prentiss, although, did not acknowledge this brightness because she was frustrated with herself. She hated being fussed over so much. She hated everyone asking her if she needed something every five minutes, whether it is water, a blanket, or medication. She needed to leave this stifling plane. She understood that they only wanted to help her; the frustrating part was realizing that she really needed help. Emily glared out the window at the passing sky and slowly closed her eyes, settling into sleep and mentally escaping the tin can-like jet.

…

Hotch looked over at Emily as the pilot announced that the plane would be landing soon. She was still asleep. Her scratches and bruises were still prominent, but Hotch was too distracted by her magnificent eyelashes and her dark hair that draped around her face. He slowly moved his arm over and nudged her shoulder as gently as he could. Those eyelashes danced as she fluttered her weary eyes open and looked at Aaron.

"We are almost landing; I thought I would wake you up."

"We're here already?"

"Yeah, you're going to be home really soon."

"Thank God."

Prentiss lifted her good arm and pressed her hand against her forehead. She felt the bandages there and soon remembered that even though she was home, this wouldn't be over for a long time. The plane landed, each jostle making Prentiss wince in pain, as did getting her out of the plane, into the wheelchair, then out of the wheelchair, and into the car. Prentiss had never been handled this much, and as much as she protested, her body protested more, each stab of pain amplifying with every movement. She did not blame the team, who were only trying to help, but in her mind she wished she could just do things herself.

Reid, Morgan, and Rossi boarded one SUV to go back to Quantico immediately and report to Strauss, while Hotch insisted on driving Emily home himself, for more purposes than just her safety. With the wheelchair loaded in the back and Prentiss loaded in the front they began their drive to D.C.

"Are you alright" Prentiss gently prompted to Hotch as she moved her good hand onto his letting them clasp together.

"I'm fine. Actually I'm perfect. You are safe, and you are going to be home and we can all move on."

"Hotch I know you aren't thinking that. You are thinking that you want to stay home with me."

"Well…"

"I'm going to be fine Hotch."

"I know. I'm just worried. I don't want you getting hurt."

This obviously not well thought out statement made Emily giggle, sending shivers down Aaron's spine. Her laugh was so melodic, and it was good to hear it after so long.

"You know what I mean. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Even though you were kind of a…"

"A...?"

"A douchebag."

"What? When?"

"Before all of this happened."

"Because I could not stand the feelings I had for you! I heart would race every time I saw you! I would lose my breath. That is the only reason that I wouldn't look at you, or talk to you. I couldn't. I just had to tell you that I loved you."

"Oh, well that's good."

"Why you actually thought that I hated you?"

"I don't know, I mean a lot of things were going through my head- you, the case… you."

"I get it."

"Plus I was really confused when I though I heard you say that you loved me. Then while I was waiting, the idea arose that you only liked me because we were trapped together, and that sort of messed with your head and so you just barged into my hospital room and proclaimed you monstrous love toward me… I didn't think it could be real."

"The only reason I waited this long to tell you was because I had just gotten the nerve up to do it. Before Francis, I thought 'oh she is just going to laugh at me… she will never like me.' So I kept inside. Then it grew and soon I found myself, yes, being a total, as you say, douchebag, to you. Then we got thrown into that horrid basement- and we had the profile, we knew what he was going to make us do, and we knew that we had a slim chance of living, that is when I realized that in this profession, I could lose you in an instant, and if I didn't tell you then, I might not ever be able to tell you. That is when I… proclaimed my monstrous love toward you.

This made her giggle again, along with her eyes beginning to well up.

"I'm sorry I doubted you."

They rolled up to Prentiss' apartment building.

"Ready to go home?"

"I'm ready to go back to work."

"Yeah if you can get out of this van by yourself, then we'll see."

They smiled at each other, and locked eyes reaching a level neither one of them ever thought of reaching.

**Hey guys thanks for reading! See Prentiss will never leave and her and Hotch will be together forever! Now it's time to review! Gooo!**


	5. Bruises

**Chapter 5 you lovely people! Thanks for reading =) Ready for some Prentiss/Garcia friendship?**

Emily Prentiss rolled over in her bed and groaned. Searing pain shot throughout her whole body. Her head ached, her abdomen was sore from the broken ribs, and her limbs were stiff and throbbing as they were still riddled with bruises that were beginning to turn a darker shade of purple. Emily managed to slide out of bed and onto her one good foot. She grabbed the end of her bedside table and caught her balance. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she tried to get a handle of the pain she was in. As she opened her dark eyes she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked awful. Her tank top that she slept in did not to a good job concealing the mess of bruises on her arms and shoulders. Bandages were scattered on her skin protecting different cuts and scrapes. Her ankle and wrist were wrapped with a white bandage, and her arm was in a cast. Emily let out a light sigh, but could not take the focus on the broken woman staring back at her in the mirror.

A loud buzz from the doorbell snapped Emily's focus back into the real world.

"Hotch?"

She said his name in a low voice, knowing that he was going to stop by no matter how much she protested. Emily began to limp to the front door.

When Prentiss finally made it to the door she carelessly opened it without checking who it was first.

"Hotch, I told you-"

Penelope Garcia looked at her with a confused expression on her face"

"Garcia?"

"Hi… you were expecting Hotch?"

"No… No, I… um… come in Garcia."

Garcia made her way in to the apartment and placed her purse neatly on the floor next to a small table.

"I'm sorry I look like a mess… let me go change, you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

"Em, you really don't have to change, I just want to see how you were."

"No, I won't feel right; it'll only take a few minutes."

Garcia smiled at her friend and watched her limp into her room. She decided to take Emily's offer and check out the kitchen. As Penelope checked the refrigerator, she noticed a collection of pill bottles on the counter. She looked at the labels and saw that two were for pain relief and one was a muscle relaxer. She also noticed that none of them had ever been opened.

_She is so stubborn._

Suddenly Garcia heard a small yelp from the other room. She rushed to Emily's bedroom door and jiggled the knob to find that it was locked.

"Emily?"

"I'm fine!"

That proclamation was followed by a hiss of pain and another small yelp.

"Emily? What happened? Let me in!'

"I can't… Garcia I'm fine."

"No, Em, you're not. What happened? Can you get the door?"

"I fell… my ribs…"

"Can you open the door?"

"It hurts…"

"I know, Em, please open the door."

Garcia could hear Emily pulling herself toward the door, and then the knob began to wiggle.

"It's open."

Garcia opened the door to come across Emily Prentiss curled into a ball on the floor. She fell on to her knees and began to whisper to Emily.

"Em? Emily?"

Prentiss rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling with her eyes wide.

"Hotch! What did you need to say to me! Let me go! HOTCH!"

"Emily! Look at me!"

Garcia gently grabbed her distressed co-workers shoulders and stared into her blank eyes. Penelope did not know how to deal with panic attacks and soon tears were streaming from her eyes.

"Emily? Wake up! It's me Garcia! Look at me please!"

"Help me! Let me go! Hotch!"

Emily breathed in a sharp breath, and then began to cough. Garcia gently rolled her over to her side and stroked her raven hair. Soon the room fell silent and Garcia was left shaking next to her friend as they both lay on the floor.

"Emily?"

"Garcia?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry… just let me get up."

"Let me help you."

"No… I…"

"Em…"

Garcia helped the distraught Prentiss onto her feet and then sat her down on the bed.

"Garcia… he was there. I saw him there; he was taking me away again."

"Well you're safe now."

"I'm so sorry."

Emily then crumbled into the arms of a nervous Penelope Garcia.

"It hurts so much…"

Garcia began to stroke her hair again and run her hand up and down Emily's back. Garcia looked at Emily's arms and saw the bruises up close. Etching lines of broken veins traveled throughout the purple patches on her otherwise porcelain skin. This was just the outside. Penelope could not imagine the venomous pain that agonized Emily. She hated seeing one of her friends in pain. More tears dribbled down her cheeks and landed on Emily's bare shoulders.

Prentiss sat up and wiped her misty eyes and sniffed.

"I'm so sorry." She repeated as her nose twitched.

"Why haven't you taken your pain medication? It will help."

"I didn't want it. I didn't think I needed it."

"It's okay to need it, y'know."

"I have to face it I guess."

"Face what?"

"That I'm weak."

Prentiss turned her gaze to her broken arm. Garcia simply stared at her speechless. The awkward silence of the room was dismissed when Garcia heard her cell phone ring.

"I'll be right back okay? I promise, don't move."

Emily nodded and watched her friend through the door pick up her cell phone. She could not really understand what was happening on the other end but she though she heard something along the lines of-

"_Hotch? Really? Now? That bad? Alright, I'll be there, but I don't think I can come now. Prentiss. Okay, bye."_

Garcia came back into the room with a worried look on her face.

"I'm sorry I have to go. But I don't want to leave you like this."

"A case?"

"Yeah. I could bring my laptop here and stay with you."

"No you couldn't function here. Go, please."

"You can't even walk, I can't leave you here. Look I'll go for the briefing and then I will come back to check on you okay?"

"No, PG, go."

"I'll be back, I promise."

Garcia fled the room, but did not leave the apartment right away. Emily could hear the unsatisfying clacking from the pill bottles, then the door closing. She managed to limp to the kitchen and look at the counter. Garcia had laid out two small white pills with a napkin next to it, written on it with marker-

_You are not weak._

**Idk about you but I really liked this chapter =) I hoped you did to and I will be updating soon-ish… maybe… lol bye guys :D**


	6. I Can Handle This

**Hey guys, I almost thought I lost this chapter when my computer shut off, but it was recovered after a few minutes of freaking out, another few minutes of searching, and a few minutes of celebrating. YAY! Okay, plus the world didn't end so yeah, I'm having a good day =) happy reading!**

Penelope Garcia quickly walked across the catwalk to the briefing room. Her face was still damp with the tears that she had let loose at Emily's apartment. Her legs were still a bit shaky, and her heart was still beating fast. She opened the door and was greeted by four pairs of concerned brown eyes. She sat down in her seat next to the comforting Derek Morgan who looked at her with a worried gaze. He handed her a brown folder. She promptly opened the case file. She glanced at one of the photographs and sucked in a sharp breath and immediately closed the folder again. Morgan reached over and laid his large hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze. She looked at him and mouthed the words ''_this is bad''. _Morgan nodded, not knowing that Garcia was not just talking about the case.

Hotch began to talk about the case. Penelope was glad he was taking care of the briefing. Garcia most definitely could not handle it right now. Garcia tapped her heeled foot under the table. Her mind kept saying that she needed to tell Hotch about Prentiss, seeing the worried look on his face already; she knew it wasn't the right time. She didn't want to hinder the case or the emotions of her leader, but she was also scared for her friend.

Aaron began to discuss the gruesome details of the case.

"This case is a local case. The unsub has been taking two victims at a time, holding them for a short period, and then swapping their faces."

Reid cleared his throat, "Swapping faces?"

"He surgically removes the face of both victims and then proceeds to switch them. He dumps the bodies in two different places. When police found the first body, they identified the girl with dental records, but her face was unrecognizable. They then found the second body and put the two pieces together. The unsub has taken six victims so far, four girls and two boys. We found the first two girls ten days ago. They were identified as Meghan Jenkins and Kendra Hasworth. There seems to be no connection between them, but Garcia, I want you to look farther into that. The second two that were discovered were two boys, Jonathan Richards and Alex Quinn, and finally two days ago two more girls were found, Annabelle Donaldson and Mia Franklin. Garcia I want you to look into recent missings to see if the unsub had abducted more victims and also look into connections between the established victims. Reid, I want you to map out a geographical profile, Morgan and Rossi, I want you to inspect the bodies and begin victimology. Since the case is local we will be operating here. I will join you as soon as I can, I need to take care of something first."

"Strauss?", Reid asked.

Hotch lied, "yeah, Strauss... Everyone, get to work."

When everyone had begun to leave the briefing room, Rossi nudged Morgan and said in a low voice, "I didn't know Strauss suddenly had dark hair and changed her name to Emily."

Hotch had grabbed Garcia on the shoulder and told her to stay. He knew something was wrong with Emily and his heart was beating so nervously in his chest that he felt it might burst open.

"What happened to Emily?"

"I don't know, she fell-"

"I she okay?"

"I don't know, she started freaking out and she was calling for you-"

"Me?"

"Yes, then she snapped out of it-"

"Out of what?" His voiced began to accelerate and his volume increased.

"Out of whatever she was experiencing! She said she saw him…" Garcia was beginning to get restless, Hotch was clearly worried, but she couldn't even finish a sentence without him saying something."

"Him?"

"Him, Hotch."

"Him, who?"

"Him! The sick piece of crap that did this to you!" she grabbed his bruised wrist and held it in front of his face, "Him, Hotch! She saw him!" she then let his hand go, and watched it as it dropped to his side.

Hotch placed his hand on Penelope's shoulder and apologized. He looked at her with a painful stare. If eyes were really windows to the soul, then Hotch's soul was clearly in agonizing pain.

"You need to go and check if she is okay, Hotch. I feel awful that I left her there all alone, and knowing her, she is getting dresses to come to work. She knows there is a case now."

"Alright. I need you to stall the rest of the team."

"Why can't you just tell them the truth?"

"I can't… not yet."

"Why what's going on?"

"I don't want them to think I'm distracted. I don't want them to think I can't do this, I can handle this case, I can handle this" he held up his purple wrist, "and I can handle Emily."

"Hotch, I don't doubt you, but maybe you are distracted. Maybe you need some time off too. You might just have gotten away with some bruises, but you, of all people should know that sometimes the damage does not end there."

Aaron nodded sorrowfully and gazed down at his feet.

"I can handle it", he said not looking up. When he did finally establish eye contact with Garcia, he tried to lighten the mood. "But I want you to handle Reid, Rossi, and Morgan."

Penelope cracked a small smile.

"You got it, now please go check on Prentiss, and tell me if she is okay."

The two agents walked out of the room together.

**Thanks for sticking with me, I am going to try to update quicker… yeah i know I'm not the best at that… sorry, but reviews might help me write faster! Yeah I know, cheap shot. Bye! =)**


	7. All That Matters

**16 reveiws guys, you know what that means? That means you are awesome =) okay here is chapter seven, more romance in this chapter, cause I know you love that! Commence reading pleasure…**

Aaron Hotchner padded up the stairs of Emily's apartment building, reaching her floor. He practically sprinted to her door, partly because he was worried and partly because he wanted her in his arms again. He thought it was selfish, but he was used to seeing her every day, and now his visits were staggered. He wanted to see her at her desk back at the BAU where she would be looking into case files, or giggling along with Morgan about something weird Reid said. She was carefree enough to be almost whimsical, and badass enough to be an FBI agent, but there still was a bit of mystery behind her eyes that drew Hotch in, and he found that ever so sexy.

He reached the door and gave it a firm knock, praying that Emily would answer the door, this way he would not have to resort to other methods of entry. He let out a relieved breath when the deadbolt clicked open.

"Emily? It's me."

The chain was then unlatched and the door cracked open/ Emily peered through the small sliver and glanced at the man she loved with all of her heart.

"Emily." Hotch stated her name calmly.

The door was then opened all the way and Emily threw her arms around Hotch's shoulders and buried her face in his neck. She took a deep breath in, inhaling his scent, and then her body heaved with racking sobs. Aaron wrapped his own arms gently around Emily's shaking torso, careful not to jostle her sore ribs and pressed his lips to her dark hair, giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"It's okay, baby, I'm here."

"I love you so much." She said, still nestled in the crook of Aaron's neck.

"I love you to."

She unraveled her arms from around his neck and looked at him. He had dark purple smudges under his eyes from lack of sleep and his brows were furrows in worry. He returned her gaze. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her cheeks were flushed. She then pressed her lips against his and they both submerged into a deep and passionate kiss right there in the doorway. All the pain that Emily had previously felt melted away, and all the problems in the world did not seem to matter as much. Every time their lips touched electricity surged through both their bodies. It seemed to recharge them.

When they finally broke apart, Emily smiled at him, and then led him inside that apartment. He watched her close that door and swiftly wipe away the tears from her eyes. She was hoping he wouldn't notice. She watched him sit down on the couch and pat the space next to him. She happily took the space and he rested a hand on her thigh. They looked at each other again and smiled. He was the one to speak first.

"What happened with Garcia?"

"Wow, Aaron, you have sat down for ten seconds, and you're already questioning me?" she said playfully, trying to ignore the question.

"I am just worried about you."

"I'm fine, I mean panic attacks are common after trauma right?"

"It was a panic attack?"

"Truth is I'm not sure… I'm just glad you're here now."

She placed her hand on top of his.

"I know, me too, but I am not going to be here as much as I'd like to be, and I need to know that you are okay."

"Hotch, I'm fine, it probably won't happen again, and if it does I'll tell you, even if distracts you."

"I'm not distracted." He said defensively.

"I didn't say you were… but speaking of the case…"

"I'm impressed."

"What?"

"That it took you this long to ask about the case."

"Well _I_ was a little distracted." She nodded toward the door.

They both smiled at eachother.

"I don't need you worried about the case."

"But maybe that's what I need though. Something to take my mind off everything. When I'm here all I can think about is that you aren't here, or that I am in pain, or that I almost died, but if I had some work to do, I wouldn't have to think about that."

"I don't want you working in your condition."

"Hotch, I'm not going to be doing jumping jacks or anything."

"I love you."

She playfully pushed his shoulder at the attempt of changing the subject. He spoke again.

"I just want to think about us for now. You and me, for these few moments that's all that matters."

They both fell into silence, and for once, were not thinking about serial killers, profiles, or dead bodies. Emily was thinking about him. The tall, dark and handsome man who she fell in love with. The man who seemed emotionless, but had more emotions inside him than anyone Emily had ever met. The man whose lips, that tasted like passion and strong coffee, could make any pain go away. The man who she never wanted to let go.

Hotch was thinking about her. The woman who had the most beautiful fair skin and long eyelashes. The woman who he once almost turned away in fear of hiring a careless agent. The woman who had proved herself more than anyone. The woman that could seduce a man, comfort a child, shoot a gun, and catch a killer all in the same day, but could still go out for a drink afterwards. The woman who was so full of surprises that it kept his heart beating fast.

They both wound up drifting into sleep. Hotch awoke for a minute, and glanced over at Emily. Her lips were slightly parted, and her eyes were closed peacefully. She had managed to basically be on his lap. Her arms were twined around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder, and her knees brought up by her stomach. He tilted his head a bit so that it was resting on top of hers. He closed his eyes again. They lay there interlaced in the serene silence, neither of them aware of what was and would be happening back at the BAU.

**DUN DUN DUN! =) okay so that was adorable, I love writing lovey dovey things like that =) the next chapter should have more drama as indicated by the "DUN DUN DUN" and yeah so thanks for reading! Review?**


	8. Connecting the Dots

**Hey guys! So did you hear? PAGET BREWSTER/EMILY PRENTISS IS RETURNING TO CRIMINAL MINDS! Omg I am so happy xDDD okay sorry, I had a moment, here is chapter eight! Wow eight already…**

Dr. Spencer Reid stared at the map before him. He had already created a geographical profile, but he still was confused on the unsubs motives. He had taken these teenagers from completely different areas of Virginia and Maryland. The pairs of victims were never in the same area, and Reid wondered of that was a countermeasure to keep the police off of his trail. His comfort zone was way too large to be anything of use, but the placement of the six dots meant something to Reid. He could feel that there was something more so Reid began to do what he does best: think.

_The blue dots represent the first two victims, the red is the second pair, and green is the third. If I connect the pairs together, I get absolutely nothing, if I connect them according to gender, I get nothing._

Reid rubbed his temples and paced back and forth making his leather loafers squeak on the smooth floor of the briefing room. He then leaned over the table and looked at the list of victims. His mind raced as he put them is as many different patterns that his mind could compute including age, height, weight but when he connected the dots he came up with nothing. He looked at the sheets again and tries one more possibility- grade point average and was surprised at what he found. The lines created the letter P with an extra dot on the bottom.

…

Rossi and Morgan strolled into the cold prison that was the morgue. Six human forms were on steel tables, covered by blue sheets. Morgan knitted his eyebrows in worry, nervous to see what was under the sheets. An examiner joined them in the room.

"The surgically removed faces were clean cut, and it was done post mortem."

"How did they die in the first place?"

"Well, if you consider the pairs of victims, then the way they were murdered would be quite interesting."

He gently lifted the sheet from one of the forms revealing a disheveled face that had been sewn in place. Then he revealed the second body under similar circumstances.

"This first girl was in better shape than the second one, but the first girl had a more brutal murder. She was stabbed sixteen times in the abdomen, and she died from blood loss, but there were also signs of strangulation and beating post mortem. The second girl died rather quickly from strangulation. She showed signs of remorse, she was cleaned and her new face was sewn on less crudely than the other one. This pattern was consistent with all of the pairs of victims. The only difference was that the boys were stabbed less time than the girls, and did not show as much remorse."

Possibilities rushed through Rossi and Morgan's minds, wondering what this all could mean. Swapping faces? Combination of remorse and anger within victims? No physical connection? What is going through this guy's head?

…

Garcia ran her nimble fingers over her keyboard looking into the victims. She began with the first two. Meghan Jenkins was your run of the mill unpopular girl. She was not in any clubs and she was generally unsocial. Garcia felt bad for the girl who was the unfortunate victim of acne and excess weight. She had mousy brown hair that was cut right on her shoulders; she wore small glasses and was accustomed to donning t-shirts and ill-fitting jeans every day. Kendra Hasworth on the other hand attended a private school in Maryland and was a blonde, musically gifted, social butterfly. As Garcia looked more into the pairs of victims she discovered a pattern. Annabelle Donaldson was a beautiful red- haired, ice skating, beauty queen, while Mia Franklin was a chemistry nerd that had trouble at home that led her to multiple suicide attempts and severe bullying at school. Finally Jonathan Richards was an aspiring high school drop out that also received bullying due to his low grades and small frame, while Alex Quinn was an athlete and was ambitious in becoming a famous hockey player. One popular victim, and one unpopular victim made sense, this was what the unsub had endured during his childhood.

"Who am I kidding I'm not a profiler… But what if I'm right? Who am I kidding I'm always right."

Garcia mumbled to herself then proceeded to call Derek Morgan with the news, but another call interrupted her.

…

Aaron Hotchner's eyes fluttered open, finding himself still in Emily's comforting apartment with the love of his life by his side. He tried to slip out from under Emily but soon realized that she was clasped around his waist, not wanting to let go. He gently squeezed her hands, hoping to be able to make them release, but wound up making her wake up.

"Hotch?"

"Hey, shhh, go back to sleep"

"No, I've been sleeping forever."

"You need it. Besides its only… eleven o'clock."

Hotch did a double take at the clock. He couldn't believe that he had slept for so long. He guessed it was the fact that he had not slept well since the accident, he was too worried about Emily, but now that he was in Emily's arms, he could easily have slept for a year. But there was a case.

_The case._

Hotch ran toward the kitchen to check his phone and left a worried, but half sleeping Emily on the couch. He looked at the screen and saw that there were six missed calls and eight new text messages from Garcia.

_I found a connection between the victims._

_Reid found something interesting in the geographical profile._

_Hotch please pick up._

_Is everything alright with Emily?_

_Hotch are you there?_

_Hotch please I'm getting worried._

_Hotch Morgan and Rossi are asking where you are, I don't know what to say._

_Hotch please pick up, i just got a call, there are two more victims. I need you here._

Hotch cursed under his breath. He was supposed to be handling this without distractions, but there was the biggest distraction of his life sitting on the couch. He left poor Garcia with so much to handle that he felt horrible. He looked at Emily with a worried glance. She stood up and limped over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into kiss. Then she whispered in his ear.

"Go."

She gently nudged him out the door.

"But its late."

"Has that ever stopped you before?"

He looked at her and smiled.

"I love you."

"Eight victims."

"How do you know that?"

"Go."

He then began to walk down the hallway.

"I love you to!"

She shouted after him. A light blush formed on his cheeks as he padded down the stairs.

**Okay guys what do you think? I know where I'm going with this case and I hope you do to =) Thanks for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews, you are THE best ever! Okay bye!**


	9. Shaky

**Helllooo! Her is chapter nine! A little more drama anyone? Well, sure!**

"Tell me everything."

Aaron barged in to the briefing room where he met a worried and somewhat flustered Penelope Garcia.

"Well, Reid mapped out the geographical profile and found that the string of victims so far has created a PI, and we still don't know what that means, Rossi and Morgan looked at the bodies and I think I have found a pattern within the victims-"

"And don't forget the two new victims"

Reid had walked through the door and announced this. He then grabbed a marker off of the table and scurried to his map. He began running his fingers nimbly over the paper and then proceeded to dray two more straight lines. He stepped back a minute to observe the new picture, as did Garcia and Hotch.

"PF?"

"Who are the two new victims?"

Reid looked at Hotch and answered.

"They're two boys again, which we expected, their names are Jason Riley and Edward Ashton."

"Alright, Reid, do you think that we can begin a profile?"

"Maybe…"

"Garcia you said that you found a pattern between the victims?"

"Well, I mean I don't know… Maybe."

"What is it?" Reid prodded.

"Well each time there is two victims, right? Well each time there is also one victim who is popular, but then the other victim is polar opposite- unpopular, bullied, alone. I think that if you look at the new victims you will see the same thing."

Reid cradled his chin in thought and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're right. That means that maybe he is trying to display a message, something that has overwhelmed him since he was young."

"The pressure to be popular?"

"Exactly, and if he is this angry at his past, then I don't think he is going to stop anytime soon."

…

Back at Emily Prentiss' apartment, Emily was still feeling all shaky inside form being in Aaron's arms. The smell of him still lingered on her skin and she wouldn't want it any other way. She made her way into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. Suddenly she began to felt a little bit woozy and she rocked back and forth on her feet a little. Emily gripped the side of the counter to steady herself. When it all seemed normal again, she placed a hand on her forehead, noticing that she was a little warmer than usual. She brought her hand down to her side again and began walking toward her bedroom.

"I'm fine, everything is fine."

…

The entire team, with the absence of Emily Prentiss was now gathered around the briefing table, and they began to start talking about the profile.

"All of his victims are white, so odds are he is too."

"And he most likely had a not- so – incredible childhood."

"But wait guys," Morgan began, "when me and Rossi checked out the victims, the guy said that there were more stab wounds on the girls, and more remorse on the girls. So what is this unsub is a girl?"

"How would a girl pull off killing a male teenage athlete?"

"Maybe she has a really good way of getting them to comply."

"But how? I mean it makes sense if it was a girl, and if she does have a really good way of making people come to her, then once we find it, it will be easier to find her."

"So are we changing the profile to female?"

"Let's just keep our options open."

…

Emily lay on her bed, wrapping herself in her blankets. She suddenly was very cold, and still a slight bit dizzy. She put it off as not eating enough, but her body did not want to get up and get food from the kitchen. Every small movement made her abdomen rack in pain as if showing protest. She pulled her arms in tighter to her body, curling up into a small ball. She thought about Hotch and how he was gone for a few hours now, and when he was going to come back soon to hold her again.

_What am I saying? Hotch can't come and just be with you when there is an important case! He needs to be out solving this and putting murderers away, not be with you! Now you are just being selfish, people are dying for God's sakes and all you want is the man that can help them to be snuggled up next to you instead._

Prentiss thought the acid- like words and was practically yelling at herself insider her head. She whimpered slightly as her abdomen cringed in pain and she hated how pathetic she sounded. When had she become so needy? Probably when she had been hit with a Taser. Yeah, that could do it.

She began to relive that awful moment that she felt the electricity course though her body on that soggy, fould-smelling ground, and the sickening words that Frances spat in her face as he shocked her seeped into her ears-

"_He's not going to help you… he doesn't love you! Do you know why? Tell me agent Prentiss, do you know why?"_

Emily sucked in a sharp breath as she began to shiver, and soon that shiver turned into a full convulsion. She felt a wave of nausea and struggled to pull herself to the bathroom, the course carpet rubbing against her hands and the floor seemed to tilt. She reached it in time so she could release the contents of her stomach into the cold oval bowl. She coughed a few times and then sat on the floor, leaning on the wall. Her head pounded and she could still hear those vicious words.

"_Because you don't deserve love! You don't deserve to be loved! And you never will!"_

**Ooh, I'm so mean! I always torture my favorite characters though, so, sorry Emily =/ Thanks for reading and review if you want to. And I know you want to =)**


End file.
